Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Is Finally Happening as a Big Budget Netflix Series

Looks like Coraline and American Gods author Neil Gaiman's classic Vertigo comic The Sandman is finally heading to a screen near you soon. Yes, it seems that Wonder Woman and Grey's Anatomy writer Allan Heinberg will serve as the showrunner and head writer for the new Netflix series with Gaiman serving as the show's executive producer alongside The Dark Knight and Blade screenwriter David S. Goyer.

Evidently, this live-action The Sandman series will be the most expensive TV series DC Entertainment has ever done, although Netflix has declined to comment at the moment. The (current) streaming giant supreme snatched up the rights to this live-action series after Warner Bros. took the TV pitch to HBO who did not make a play for the series, given the massive price tag attached. But wouldn't you just know it? The enormous price tag for this The Sandman series didn't seem to bother Netflix one little bit, and the streaming giant snatched up the rights quick, fast, and in a hurry.

And this kind of makes sense, considering that, since Marvel has pulled out of their deal with the streaming platform, Netflix has been on the hunt for the most significant projects they can get their hands on. Some of these considerable IPs include Magic: The Gathering, The Chronicles of Narnia and the works of Roald Dahl, author of such classic kid's books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG among others.

This new Netflix series comes on the heels of Hollywood trying to turn the comic into a movie since as far back as I can remember. The last attempt was back in 2013 when it really did seem like Gaiman and The Dark Knight Rises and 500 Days of Summer actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt were going to get the movie up on the big screen. Gordon-Levitt was all set to star in the film and direct the flick with Arrival and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010 screenwriter Eric Heisserer penning the script. But then that all fell through in 2016 when Gordon-Levitt and Heisserer left due to creative differences. Before that, though Warner Bros. went through multiple incarnations and writers in the 1990s and early 2000s - but, obviously, nothing came of those attempts either.

For those of you out there that might not know, The Neil Gaiman comic The Sandman centers on the seven Endless who rule over the world of dreams. They include characters such as Dream, Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction. The story is about how Dream - who is, you know, The Lord of Dreams - is captured and subsequently learns that sometimes change is inevitable. The DC Comics/Vertigo comic book series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996. The Sandman was Vertigo's flagship title and is one of the first few graphic novels - along with Maus, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns - to ever to be on the New York Times Best Seller list.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and pass along further word as we hear it. Meanwhile, this story comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.